Poison
by Scuttlest
Summary: Sima Shi's wife was a loyal woman, devoted to a husband who would surely be a man who does great things. Sima Shi returned that loyalty, and when an unknown group attempted to assassinate the woman, the plotters would learn how far Sima Shi's loyalty went. Rated T.
1. Unhealthy Battle

**My first fic in the Dynasty Warriors side of . Hehe.**

**Anyway, The idea of this fic came from me reviewing some historical information regarding the Three Kingdoms period to theorize who could become Jin faction characters. I had a number of people under consideration, but ultimately settled on the idea of Shi joining his brother and father in having his wife in the game. Sima Shi had three wives historically, and I ended up going with the wife he had the coldest relationship with historically.**

**This'll be a nice few chapters in length. This story will revolve around the wife I choose, but it won't really star her.**

**As a newcomer to DW, please forgive me if my characterization of the characters isn't spot on.**

* * *

The sun shone brilliantly on Mt. Tielong, offering light and warmth to all that lived in the area, be they man or beast. It was a work of art to see the mountain light up this morning, the light slowly stretched across the rocks, revealing crevasses, paths in the mountains, and even the Wei camp.

Wei had quickly set up camp in the area, in response to scouts reporting that a Shu army was advancing on the border. They had chosen this morning to attack Wei, apparently intending to mar this beautiful morning with their corpses, as all felt that today could only end in an overwhelming victory for Wei.

Sima Shi of the Sima clan was personally managing the defense of Wei today. Doubtlessly the enemy commander was Jiang Wei, who had proven across the years to be a most persistent thorn in Wei's side. These invasions of Wei, these Northern Campaigns as they were called, seemed endless. Jiang Wei's tenacity was almost admirable at first, but it soon became tiresome, and now all in Wei were thoroughly sick of these intrusions on Wei territory. Jiang Wei displayed _some_ aptitude for strategy, true, but he was truly just another imbecile. Shi intended to make it clear today that the Shu strategist was an incompetent fool when compared to the intellect of the Sima clan.

The spirit in the camp was high. Shi had proven himself as a competent leader over and again after succeeding his father, and he had the complete faith and trust of the soldiers of Wei. Even many of the officers of Wei regarded him as the man who would undoubtedly lead Wei to victory in the war of the Three Kingdoms. He had many, many supporters, not the least of which was his wife.

Lady Xiahou Hui walked through the camp, far from a foreign setting for her. She was known for her loyalty to her husband, and though she had been torn by the Sima stripping the Cao family of its influence, she ultimately continued to follow her husband. When Shi had Xiahou Hui's brother, Xiahou Xuan, executed, she did not offer a word of protest, choosing her husband over kin. Though some hushed voices would tell you that she clung to Shi out of fear that she'd be the next one executed by him.

She received more then one glance as she walked around. Most would say that it was to be expected that a man as capable as Sima Shi would have such a stunningly beautiful wife. It was said that few Wei women could match Xiahou Hui, and that Wang Yuanji was one of her few rivals in that regard. Her cyan gown, which was made to not restrict movement, only helped her be more eye-catching.

Xiahou Hui had the same intellectual strengths that all members of the Sima clan were expected to have. And it was notable for her to have these traits as she wasn't born into the clan. Yet it was whispered that despite her talents she suffered from feelings of inadequacy, that she felt she wasn't worthy of being a member of the Sima clan. These feelings were said to factor into her decision to participate in battle.

"Lady Xiahou Hui." An officer of Wei addressed the woman, Hui turned and recognized the man as Zhuge Dan, one of the loyal vassals of the Sima clan, despite coming from the Zhuge clan. "Is it necessary for you to join the battle? Imagine how Master Sima Shi would feel if you were to be injured…"

Xiahou Hui already had the answer to that, as she had dealt with the question herself. "I understand what my injury or death would mean to my lord. But when I look at the capabilities of my Lord Sima Shi and Master Sima Zhao, I feel so lacking. I need to prove to myself that I have the right to call myself a member of the Sima clan."

Zhuge Dan's brow furrowed. Mostly, Xiahou Hui suspected, due to the fact that she just insinuated that Zhao was an extraordinarily capable man. Zhuge Dan was becoming well known for his dislike for the younger Sima brother.

"If that is your wish, I will not argue, my lady." Zhuge Dan said, though his tone suggested that he truly felt otherwise. "But I beg you, stay away from the front line. Stay where it's safe. Do nothing that would vex Master Sima Shi." He took his leave, most likely hoping that Xiahou Hui would act in line with that advice. Yet Xiahou Hui could not prove to herself that she deserved to be a member of the clan if she simply stayed where it was safe like some coward.

She felt a slight twinge of guilt that she'd be going completely against Zhuge Dan's wish, but still felt that she had to do this. She was blessed to be Sima Shi's wife, but she felt she had to show that she was worthy of that position.

"My lady." Another man stopped her as she was preparing to walk again. This one she didn't recognize. He was clothed in the standard garb of all Wei soldiers, and with his motions he made sure he was treating Xiahou Hui with the proper amount of respect due to someone of her position. "An order has been issued that all members of the Sima clan present at this battle be given a special drink."

He produced a small cup and offered it to Xiahou Hui. Yet Hui did not accept immediately. She enjoyed always knowing the face and background of everyone in the camp, and she was… puzzled, by her inability to recognize this man.

"Who are you?" She asked, the man seemed taken aback by the drink not being immediately accepted. "I know the face of every soldier who is joining the defense today. Yet yours I do not recognize. I had thought I knew everyone who swore allegiance to the Sima."

A peculiar expression, perhaps panic, briefly flittered across the man's face. Then his composure returned. "Forgive me. I pledged my loyalty to the Sima only very recently. There was not enough time before now for you to have seen my face."

"Oh." Xiahou Hui responded, bowing her head. "My apologies for my suspicions." Her eyes fell on the cup still in the man's hand. She noticed that the hand holding it had begun to sweat. Surely her moment of suspicion had frightened the man, she was of the authority to punish people she suspected were intruders in the camp. Moving to stymie his fears, she took the cup.

It clearly was not water, but beyond that, it was not clear what it was. It was a strange green liquid that Xiahou Hui was certain she had never seen before. She raised her eyes from the liquid and back to the man. "What is this?"

"It… it's a refreshing drink." His tone of voice was far from confident, and his atrociously vague description of the drink did not help his case. He was clearly reaching for some sort of answer. "It's a herbal drink. It will give you a great burst of energy. All members of the Sima clan must be at their best in this battle. This drink will help you remain focused."

Xiahou Hui did not look entirely convinced, but nodded to dismiss the man. The man bowed his head and departed.

Xiahou Hui looked at the drink she had been offered. It did not look very appealing, and she wasn't looking forward to drinking it. But all of the Sima had apparently been given the drink, so she was honor bound to take it. Bringing it up to her mouth, she took a large gulp, wincing a little at the foul taste.

She took a deep breath, then forced herself to take in the rest of the cup's contents. For a moment she was almost dizzy at the foul tasting liquid, but assumed that some effect would kick in after a while. She needed to get the name of the actual liquid after the battle. Normally she'd have preferred for drinks to be moments she could share with Shi, but this was before a battle, they didn't have their usual luxuries.

* * *

"My Lord Sima Shi." Xiahou Hui came to her husband as he stood in front of the gate to the camp. "Will we be leaving to engage Shu soon?"

Sima Shi regarded his wife. He nodded in confirmation, but kept a stern face. "Hui, you truly intend to take part in this battle?" Shi shook his head. "This isn't like the other battles you've participated in. You've only participated in light skirmishes before, not a full-scale battle. The possibility of death will be higher for you then ever before."

"That's exactly why I should participate in this battle." Xiahou Hui argued. "The Sima clan is filled with intelligent and capable individuals. Each of them possessing talent far beyond so many others in Wei. I need to show to myself that I deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as them."

Shi sighed. This was far from the first time his wife had wished to participate in battle for this reason. Xiahou Hui had not even been a combatant when they married, but the martial skills of everyone else in the Sima clan convinced Xiahou Hui that she was honor bound to learn war as well. As she learned the art of combat, she looked at the skills of the clan she married into, and that was the start of these feelings of inadequacy, though in truth she was extraordinarily skilled. Shi was tempted to decline the request for combat and order her back to the capital, but he could not condemn his wife to a lifetime of self-doubt. No amount of comfort after that would appease her.

"I'll allow you to participate Hui, but please ensure that you do not deviate from my strategy. Simply do exceptionally well at following orders, that is all you need to do."

Xiahou Hui's face lit up. "Fear not, my lord. I will do all you say in battle. I must convince myself that I am worthy of becoming the Sima clan's next matriarch."

Sima Shi almost smirked. Being the successor of his mother _would_ be a stressful position. "Very well, Hui. Just remember to fall back if it becomes too much to handle. I do not wish to lose you."

Xiahou Hui felt heat build up in her cheeks. Her husband was normally aloof in his interaction with her, it was so rare to hear something like that from him. She might have tried to say something, but Shi moved to begin the battle, suddenly turning to address the army of Wei soldiers awaiting his command.

"Shu marches on our borders. Now, as always, we shall beat them back. But this time, we must make our victory absolute. We must demonstrate to the imbeciles of Shu that continued war against us is madness."

Though Sima Shi knew full well that no defeat would convince Jiang Wei that these invasions were futile. The man was a zealot who refused to abandon his predecessor's wish, and he was willing to spend countless lives on that unachievable goal. Yet these constant invasions had to have been doing massive damage to Shu's economy. Eventually the invasions would have to stop, if only due to Shu lacking the resources needed to keep them up.

"Now come. Shu's army is in sight. Let us do away with our enemy along with all their dreams of triumph. We shall choke any hope of victory out of our enemies."

A cheer erupted from the soldiers of Wei. Seizing the moment when the soldiers spirits were at their highest, Shi turned to the gatekeeper and nodded. Recognizing the command, the soldier opened the gate.

A lookout in a tower of the Wei camp took note of one soldier who, rather then join Sima Shi's charge, was instead fleeing out the back of the camp. The lookout could only be baffled that the man was forgoing the honor of taking part in repelling the invaders. Yet he just scratched his head before turning his attention back to the front. Keeping watch on Shu was surely more important then announcing that there was one single deserter.

* * *

Xiahou Hui ran as fast as she reasonably could. She could see the Shu forces up ahead, everyone knew what was about to happen. She inhaled once, bracing herself for the kill-or-be-killed carnage. This sort of situation was undoubtedly the norm for her husband, or her brother-in-law. Zhao was among one of the other units of Wei's army. Yet she had experienced this herself only a small handful of times.

She brandished her weapon, a blade of a similar design to her husband's. There were some subtle differences in the curve and the weight of the blade, and it was significantly shorter as well. The differences were small, but big enough to make a powerful difference in how she swung it. A foe who presumed that her style was identical to her husband's, or assumed her husband's was identical to hers, would be killed quickly for his foolish miscalculation.

Wei and Shu's army collided.

It took only another moment for the cacophony of war to kick in. Battle shouts and death cries mixed together to create an unholy symphony. Xiahou Hui quickly took to the fight, trying her hardest to shut out all thoughts save those relevant to the battle.

Yet try as she might, her thoughts focused on the performance given by the Sima, and by those who swore allegiance to the Sima. Sima Zhao, despite constantly being criticized as lazy and foolish, performed superbly on the battlefield, there was certainly a reason Sima Shi valued his brother as an officer. Jia Chong was making enemies fall with every swing of his throwing axes. Xiahou Hui caught sight of Jia Chong felling four enemies with a single slash, he seemed to only be aiming for one of them but another three had the misfortune to be in range of the slash. Xiahou Ba, who, as Xiahou Hui heard it, nearly defected to Shu when he misinterpreted the Sima clan's actions, was obliterating large chunks of his almost-allies with his siege spear. Above all of them was her husband. Sima Shi battled with a refined and powerful style, nowhere in his style could the slightest flaw be spotted.

Her husband's plan for dealing with Shu was to destroy Shu's manpower and supplies. These constant invasions of Wei, Shi reasoned, was placing a considerable strain on Shu's economy. Shu couldn't keep invading Wei indefinitely, but Jiang Wei likely would refuse to consider the damage being done to Shu and continue to invade. He'd be party to Shu's demise, just so long as Wei continued to beat these attacks back.

Sima Shi intended to speed up Shu's demise. Wei's objective was to kill as many Shu soldiers as possible. It was unlikely that any of them would surrender or defect, Jiang Wei likely selected those with unflinching loyalty for his campaign. Targeting Shu's manpower and ensuring as many of them were killed as possible might make many people in Shu question if Jiang Wei should be trusted with soldiers to command ever again.

On top of the man slaughter, they also had to destroy any supplies and provisions Jiang Wei brought with him. Since the Shu commander had likely prepared for a long campaign to Wei's capital of Luoyang, he probably had months of supplies ready. Xiahou Hui assumed that many of the farmers of Shu had been required to give the wheat and rice they grew to Jiang Wei, as well as offer up many of their animals to be slaughtered for meat. If Shu's supplies were destroyed so early in the campaign, many people in Shu would grumble about having to give up their goods only for Jiang Wei to waste it all. He may even lose favor with influential members of the Shu court.

Turning her head to the side, Xiahou Hui caught sight of a mass of wagons pulled by horses, escorted by a large mass of Shu soldiers. It was not in plain sight, Jiang Wei had likely taken measures to conceal it, but still she had spotted it.

"Shu's supplies has been found!" Shi had been a few moments ahead of his wife in noticing, and was already responding. "Deng Ai, take Zhuge Dan and Zhao and destroy their supplies. Everyone else, focus on the enemies in front of you."

"I cannot allow that!" A Shu officer declared. A woman suddenly jumped forward, seeming intent on ending Wei's defense by slaying Sima Shi. A fast acting Xiahou Ba activated his siege spear, letting it rocket up and force the Shu woman to abandon the attack and put up a defense.

The collision between Xiahou Ba's attack and the woman's defense sent her back. After landing the woman was briefly devoid of her bearings, she would have likely been killed if a unit of Shu troops hadn't rushed forward to form a protective circle in front of her. Eventually the woman, Xiahou Hui recognized her as the Sleeping Dragon's wife, Yueying, stood ready. Xiahou Hui took a small moment to turn to her distant relative, Xiahou Ba, she might have owed her husband's life to him.

"I will not allow you to destroy a year's worth of supplies all at once. It is what we have to sustain us as we fulfill my lord's wish." She raised a hand as a large contingent of Shu soldiers, a group that equaled the Wei army in size, rushed ahead of her. Behind her were the silhouettes of… something.

"Juggernauts…" She held the command for just another second. "Advance!"

* * *

Deng Ai and his unit were on the high ground. Beneath them was Shu's supplies. It was under much heavier guard then it seemed to be from the distance. Yet the odds were highly slanted in Wei's favor. Wei had the high ground, a terrain advantage, and they would not have to constantly put priority on guarding supplies in the skirmish that was about to begin. All that would easily mitigate Wei's moderate disadvantage in numbers.

"So we jump down and attack them?" Zhao asked. He craned his neck and gave an unenthusiastic grunt. "What a bother."

"Keep your voice down!" Zhuge Dan ordered, seemingly failing to realize that he was speaking with a much louder voice. Fortunately, while some of the Shu soldiers cautiously raised their eyes skyward, they didn't realize how close the enemy was. "This is simple, we jump down and destroy their supplies, and send Shu scurrying off."

Deng Ai readied the soldiers. He had already explained the plan on their march. A unit led by him to engage the Shu forces defending the supplies, another unit of soldiers wielding torches, a fire squad, who will wait atop the cliff for the opportune moment to strike.

With the preparations made, he raised a hand. Shu hadn't noticed them and was continuing on. Likely they had hoped to sneak around the main battle, and meet up with the main Shu army after the battle was done. But Deng Ai was here to ensure that the supplies did not get anywhere near that far.

Seeing that Shu had reached a position that would allow for Wei to deliver the most devastating damage in the shortest amount of time, Deng Ai made a single gesture with his raised hand.

Wei's troops rained down. One unfortunate soldier of Shu had the misfortune of being the man that Deng Ai landed on. Immediately Deng Ai led the troops into battle.

"I'll let no one get in the way of my duty. I'll see to it that Shu's supplies burn in fire."

Guan Yinping grunted in annoyance as her dual-headed mace met Deng Ai's drill lance. The sudden assault from Wei caught her by surprise and her defense was initially flimsy.

"I thought the battle was going to take place away from here_._" Yinping said as she tried to force Deng Ai to take a few steps back. "We should have been safe on this path to the meeting point."

Zhuge Dan ran past Deng Ai and Guan Yinping's duel, intent on decimating the guards closest to the supplies. Then what appeared to be a giant paint brush appeared in his field of vision.

Zhuge Dan ducked the attack and backed a step away, letting the wielder of the odd weapon present himself.

"Guess we shouldn't have been taking the path so quickly." Ma Dai said, as he pointed his brush at Zhuge Dan. "We'll just have to take Wei out so we can move on."

Dan rushed forward and a short exchange of attacks followed. The Zhuge eventually managed to knock the brush out of Ma Dai's hand and strike an exceptionally fierce blow to Ma Dai's chest that knocked him off his feet. Ma Dai scrambled away and started to rush to grab his brush, Zhuge Dan following immediately behind him. During all this, interference from Sima Zhao prevented the soldiers of Shu from rushing to the aid of their officers.

Yinping pushed her weapon against Deng Ai's, and finally started to push him back. Deng Ai saw the opportunity this presented him with. He allowed himself to be pushed back, but not making it obvious that he was allowing it, and Yinping foolishly continued to press the attack, and getting further and further away from the supplies she was guarding.

Eventually they had moved far enough way from the supplies. Deng Ai shouted for the fire squad to attack. The soldiers of Wei that remained on the high ground began tossing burning torches down.

"The supplies!" Yinping yelled in horror. She tried to race back, but Deng Ai stepped forward and struck a blow to Yinping's back that staggered her and cut her retreat back to the supplies short.

"It's my duty to see your invasion ended prematurely. I'll not allow you to save your rations and supplies." He readied himself for combat as Yinping picked herself up off the ground. Deng Ai's opponent turned around and visibly lost heart at the sight of all the supplies in flames.

There was no chance the Shu forces could put out the fires in time to save the food at this point. This exchange between Wei and Shu and gone completely in Wei's favor, and had likely done fatal damage to Shu's latest invasion.

"How could I let this happen?" She bemoaned. The soldiers of Shu that survived Wei's initial attack appeared to defend Yinping. Pointing their weapons at Deng Ai, it was clear that they had no intention of allowing him to get any closer.

"We have to accept that our supplies are lost. We must retreat back to the main camp." Ma Dai, bearing several bruises and bleeding in other areas, appeared beside Yinping. Yinping made a final glare at her enemies, then followed Ma Dai in retreat.

"Should we give pursuit?" Zhuge Dan asked. He seemed ready to chase them down and ensure that those two never bothered Wei again. Zhao, beside him, didn't seem nearly as willing to leap up and give chase.

"That won't be necessary." Deng Ai answered. "Shu has lost the supplies that were to serve as their lifeline. Their invasion has already failed. Let us return to the main battle."

* * *

Yueying's juggernauts proved to be formidable. They were more powerful then Shi remembered them being, it seemed likely that the wife of his father's rival had made a breakthrough that offered them more power. The stench of burning corpses, the remains of several Wei soldiers, but also of some Shu soldiers unfortunate enough to be caught in the path of the flames, filled the air. On top of that, Shi has never seen ballista constructed so quickly, their hailstorm of fire severely complicated Wei's offense.

At the very least, most of the contraptions had been destroyed. The battle, which had been briefly in Shu's favor, quickly fell back into Wei's control. Against Sima Shi, Yueying had no choice but to fall back, and back, and back.

"No!" Yueying suddenly yelled as she looked briefly to the side. There was smoke rising in the distance, it could have only been the supplies. Her horror lasted only a moment before she returned to the battle, not one of the soldiers fighting with her seemed eager to runaway either.

Shi felt a twinge of confusion. The Shu forces were continuing the attack, even though they had lost their supplies? Even if Shu won this battle, they'd die from starvation on their march into Wei. Shu's fighting spirit was not diminishing, and it didn't diminish even when Guo Huai fired a barrage from his cannon that inflicted a grievous enough injury on Yueying that there was no chance she'd have any further role in this battle.

This continued defiance made no sense. Unless…

"Shu did not put all of its supplies in one place!" Sima Shi declared. "Spread out, push the attack and locate Shu's other reservoir of supplies. If you do not find the supplies, push on to the enemy main camp."

Taking advantage of a slight lull in the combat, Shi turned to check on his wife. Xiahou Hui was doing well, she had evaded the juggernauts flames, and Shu troops were falling in scores around her. It was almost amusing that this was the woman who feared she wasn't worthy of being a member of the Sima clan. Most of Wei's officers were staggeringly inadequate compared to her combat skills, and Zhao could learn something from her dedication.

Then he noticed something… wrong, with his wife. Her body was trembling, but Xiahou Hui was not the sort to grow fearful in combat or get overly excited. After cutting down a duo of Shu soldiers who sought honor beyond their wildest dreams by slaying him, he moved to his wife.

"Hui, are you okay?" Shi inquired. Not only was his wife trembling, but now that he was close to her he took notice of her skin color. She was unnaturally pale, did she foolishly join this battle while she was ill?

"I am fine my lord." Xiahou Hui answered, though her voice seemed shaky. "I'm ready to start looking for Shu's supplies. I'll look to the west, on one of the longer paths."

Xiahou Hui ran off, a fire unit following after her. Her husband cautiously eyed her as she left. A part of him said that it was time to order her off the field, but, oh, how she would protest to that. Unfortunately, even at the risk of losing her, Shi did not have the luxury to follow her, he had to be in command of the army that engaged the central unit of Shu's invasion force.

"Yuanji." Shi addressed his brother's wife, and the most trust worthy officer still with Wei's main unit. "Go with Xiahou Hui and protect her, I'll need to tend to her immediately after the battle."

Wang Yuanji nodded without speaking, then turned to follow Xiahou Hui. Yuanji and Hui became good friends with each other after they had both married into the Sima clan. Shi was certain he could trust Zhao's wife to keep his own wife safe. He turned and re-focused himself on the battle.

* * *

Wei was advancing towards Shu's main camp, using every path available. Shu's second set of supplies had to have been somewhere. Jiang Wei presumably wouldn't keep them at the main camp, he'd hide them somewhere else in case the main camp fell. Xiahou Hui believed that to be the most likely possibility.

As such, she chose to go down a side path that looked like it wouldn't see much use in the battle. It seemed like a likely spot for Jiang Wei to hide the second set of supplies. Shu appeared to have tried to sneak the supplies past the battle, likely to meet up somewhere. Now half of their supplies was gone, if word of that had spread, Shu's remaining supplies would have been under much heavier guard.

A much denser guard, and she would have to defeat that almost entirely by herself. The fire squad behind her were trained on how to start fires and make the fires as destructive as possible, but they were not trained to fight. As such, any combat would have to be handled by her alone, which-

"Be cautious on going off on your own, Lady Xiahou Hui." Yunaji cautioned as she caught up to the woman. "Shu's supplies will likely be under very heavy guard. You might not be able to overcome by yourself."

"Yuanji?" Hui was surprised to see her good friend running beside her. "Why are you here? Surely there was another path for you to take."

"The only nearby allies you had were non-combatants." Yuanji quickly said. "I know you want to prove yourself, but you cannot shoulder this much on your own. Now let's go through this path on our way to Shu's main camp."

Hui smiled, then kept up her pace. The presence of a good friend would be the source of much comfort or encouragement. She hoped to find Shu's supplies on the path so she could aid her husband. It did not take long for Hui's wish to be granted.

Shu soldiers were tensely standing around a number of crates. The knowledge of the burning of the other supplies had clearly reached them, they weren't moving, they were just guarding, quietly studying the area around them for any sign of Wei. They were in a formation that was clearly designed to beat back an aggressive attack by a large, organized force. Unfortunately for them, what was about to attack wasn't a large, organized force, which would give Wei the advantage.

They hadn't been spotted. They were obviously on the lookout for a larger force that displayed little interest in subtlety. They were so focused that Xiahou Hui suspected that they would severely overreact to an inconsequential noise. A plan popping into her mind, she picked up a stone from the ground and tossed it. Every soldier of Shu immediately adopted a fighting stance and pointed their spears and swords at a rock that was tumbling along the ground.

As the enemy soldiers were starting to release a bit of tension and return to their formation, Yuanji took advantage of the slight lull in their focus on theit surroundings, she readied some of her throwing knives and let them fly. Three Shu soldiers died without even realizing the impending danger. Xiahou Hui ran forward just as the Shu forces were noticing that some of their allies had fallen dead.

"The enemy? The enemy is here!?" One Shu soldier yelled in a panic. He was almost immediately silenced by Xiahou Hui's sword. The remaining Shu soldiers rallied, forming a protective wall between the enemy and their supplies. One soldier of Shu, wearing a unique set of clothing, stepped forward, a nunchaku in hand.

"So the Wei forces found our remaining supplies. But we won't just hand them over to you." Guan Suo brandished his weapon. "This invasion is going to result in the end of Wei. As the son of the God of War, I'll see to it that it succeeds."

"These invasions will never succeed, not so long as my lord Sima Shi is here to meet them." Xiahou Hui boasted. "Half of Shu's supplies are already gone, and my lord is already advancing toward your main camp. Shu's latest invasion ended with its first battle. Which is exactly how all future invasions will… ugh!"

Xiahou Hui suddenly and unexpectedly lurched and had a coughing fit. A startled Yuanji went to her friend, placing a hand on Xiahou Hui's shoulders to steady her and completely ignoring Shu. Even Guan Suo momentarily paused at the display. Xiahou Hui quickly recovered, standing firm, but clearly exhausted. She was visibly trembling, even as she prepared for combat.

"Are you…" Guan Suo began, but he quickly cut himself off. "Please retreat. I do not want to harm a sick woman, please do not force my hand."

Hui pointed her weapon at the adversary, ignoring his sympathies. "I will not retreat. For the sake of my lord, I will see to it that those supplies are destroyed."

The words came through heavy breathing. Yuanji's hand were still on Xiahou Hui's shoulders, and she seemed to be debating whether or not to drag her friend back to a safer location, even if it meant exposing their backs to the enemy.

"Don't be foolish. You'll only get yourself killed if you fight in your condition. Your faith and loyalty in your lord is misplaced if he let you fight while-"

"Speak ill of my lord at your own peril!" Xiahou Hui shouted. Her sword arm began to tremble in anger. "My lord is the one who will be left standing once the chaos has ended. I'll not let you slander him like that."

Guan Suo sighed. He had misspoke if that passionate reaction was any indication. There was now no chance this woman would retreat for her own sake. He made a twirl of his nunchaku and adopted a fighting stance. He turned to his allies and made a distinct facial gesture, they were to focus only on defending the supplies, he would deal with the attackers himself.

Lady Xiahou Hui readied for combat, Yuanji cautiously followed suit, still keeping half an eye on her friend. Xiahou Hui rushed forward, Yuanji following close behind. Guan Suo readied his defense. He nimbly dodged Xiahou Hui's swipes, then struck her in the face with his nunchaku.

As Xiahou Hui stumbled back from the blow, Guan Suo turned to Yuanji. He nimbly dodged the first few thrown knives, then one managed to nick his shoulder.

Guan Suo barely felt the knife, but it threw off his movements just slightly. It threw him off enough that he was a split-second too slow to react when Xiahou Hui returned to the battle. Xiahou Hui slashed her sword, and Guan Suo wasn't able to get away from it in time. The swipe of the blade cut a deep wound across his chest.

Guan Suo leapt away, getting a safe distance from his enemies before he allowed himself to wince at the pain. He could feel the blood coming out of the wound and going down his chest.

Seeing her opportunity, Yuanji gave the signal for the fire unit to advance. Guan Suo attempted to block out the pain and put a stop to Wei's plans, but Yuanji's throwing knives forced him to stay where he was in order to effectively block and evade Yuanji's attack. Meanwhile, Xiahou Hui's sword decimated the defenders of the supplies. Guan Suo was kept on the defensive, up until the point his eyes widened in horror at the sight of Shu's remaining supplies burning.

As the Shu soldiers broke off to retreat to their camp, Yuanji finally desisted in her offense on Guan Suo, falling back to Xiahou Hui's side.

Guan Suo allowed pain to fill his face. A combination of his wound and the shame of his failure. He took a final look at his enemies, thinking of the black mark this failure would put on his honor, then turned to retreat.

"That went well." Xiahou Hui said. "Their invasion has already been ruined. And now we have a clear path to their main camp."

"Lady Xiahou Hui, perhaps returning to lord Sima Shi's army would be wiser." Yuanji consoled. "You've proven yourself enough with this, and you seem to be in poor health."

"Nonsense." Xiahou Hui protested. "I feel fine. A few coughs doesn't mean it's time to withdraw."

Xiahou Hui was already running again, Yuanji was left with little choice but to run after her friend. Yet it was clear that something was wrong with Lady Xiahou Hui, despite her insistence to the contrary. The signs were overwhelming that she was ill, and what Xiahou Hui had experienced was most certainly not a 'few' coughs. If Xiahou Hui partook in combat again, it might not end well.

* * *

Shu was fleeing in defeat. At least, Yuanji could hope there would be no more combat for Xiahou Hui to risk herself in. Once the battle was over, she would petition that Sima Shi call a physician to check Xiahou Hui. If Sima Shi insisted that a doctor look at her, Yuanji doubted that Xiahou Hui would try to stop it.

Unfortunately, at the end of their march, they found the Shu main camp, clearly still manned. Wei's main army was in sight, but it would still take a short while before they reached the enemy camp.

"Let's wait, Lady Xiahou Hui." Yuanji urged. "What Shu forces remain will likely panic once lord Sima Shi attacks. If we make a surprise attack at that moment, there will be no chance that Jiang Wei could coordinate a stable defense."

Xiahou Hui was wobbling as she stood. One look at Xiahou Hui's inability to stand straight placed the thought of not attacking at all in Yuanji's head. If Xiahou Hui was having trouble just standing straight, she was in no position to take part in the final exchange of this battle.

"If we attack and send Jiang Wei off, we'll do a great service for my lord." Xiahou Hui said slowly, looking ready to rush forward. "And the skills necessary to do it would be the skills of a worthy member of the Sima clan."

"Lady Xiahou Hui, no." Yuanji's words were sharp with a tone of warning. "We should not attempt to attack Shu's main camp by ourselves. We should launch a surprise attack once lord Sima Shi attacks."

"My lord Sima Shi said to push on to the main camp whether or not you found Shu's supplies." Hui countered. "We must attack."

A number of counters to Xiahou Hui's argument immediately came forth in Yuanji's head. There was clearly something wrong with Hui's health, Sima Shi could likely handle Shu's main camp easily by himself, that destroying Shu's supplies had done more then enough to prove Xiahou Hui's abilities…

But Xiahou Hui was already off. Yuanji bit her lip in annoyance at her stubborn friend. At times she was almost as aggravating as Yuanji's husband, but whatever was wrong with her health might have been affecting her rationality as well. For Xiahou Hui's own good Yuanji followed after her.

"Wei officers? Here?" Jiang Wei immediately turned to the two foreign women who had entered his camp. Immediately the remaining Shu soldiers appeared to reinforce him. With his double-edged trident in hand he took careful note of the both of them. He had never seen either of them before, but he could easily recognize them from the descriptions he had been given. Xiahou Hui and Wang Yuanji, the wives of Sima Shi and Sima Zhao respectively.

After a moment of observing them, his eyes widened in a horrific realization. "The route you took to the main camp! Did you…?"

"Your supplies are up in flames." Xiahou Hui boasted. "Your latest invasion of Wei has failed, just like every invasion you've tried."

Jiang Wei took a step back. He was disheartened for a moment, then a look of determination appeared. "You may have impeded Shu today, but the next invasion will be different."

"It will fail as well." Xiahiou Hui said. "They will _always_ fail."

Jiang Wei twitched in anger at the comment. "I know who you are. You are the wife of Sima Shi. If I cannot destroy Wei now, I'll take this chance to eliminate the ones who have ruined this invasion, and leave Sima Shi in grief."

Taking his weapon in hand, he charged forward ahead of his men. Xiahou Hui managed to block the first strike, but the single clash made it clear the difference in strength between the two.

Jiang Wei might have ended the fight with a second slash, but was suddenly forced to defend against Yuanji's knives. After dodging and blocking a few, he managed to deflect one back at Yuanji. The knife slashed the bicep of the arm that was holding all of her knives, and the sudden pain made her lose her grip on her weapons.

As Yuanji's knives fell to the floor, Shu soldiers started to advance on her. Jiang Wei turned to Xiahou Hui, who was intent on attacking him. With one slash of his weapon he ripped Hui's sword from her hands and knocked her to the ground.

Jiang Wei advanced, intending to slay the woman, and after that he would take Yuanji's life as well before retreating back to Chengdu. He could at least dishearten the leaders of the Sima clan and make it a pyrrhic victory for them. Xiahou Hui was in the process of picking herself up, but then had a coughing fit. Jiang Wei, unsympathetic to the Wei woman's pain, lifted his weapon up…

Then the crashing sound of the camp's gates being smashed down rung through the air. Jiang Wei looked up to see a ram had burst down the gates, and the army of Wei was surging. First among them was Sima Shi. The young leader of the Sima clan looked at the figure of his wife, and then his eyes locked onto Jiang Wei.

Jiang Wei took a step back as he looked disbelieving at Wei's advance. To think that Wei would take this battle so quickly. Reacting quickly, he made the signal for the Shu soldiers in the camp to immediately begin retreating back to safety, while he made an attempt to strike a blow to Sima Shi.

The fight between them lasted only a moment, Shi outmaneuvered Jiang Wei and with his Lightning Blade he carved a deep and bloody wound into Jiang Wei's bicep. To Jiang Wei, it felt like the arm had been set on fire, he immediately dropped his weapon as he stumbled back, trying his hardest to not move the arm and tear the wound open.

Before him was Sima Shi, and the Sima's army. Sima Shi had seen to the destruction of Shu's supplies, and perhaps the death of half the soldiers Jiang Wei had brought with him. Left with no choice but to accept that his invasion experienced miserable failure in its first battle, he turned and fled.

Sima Shi could have pursued, but instead turned to his wife. Xiahou Hui was still trying to pick herself up. As Shi's army was securing the camp and checking for any unpleasant surprise Shu might have left, Shi helped his wife to her feet.

"My lord, I-" Xiahou Hui gave into a cough again. "We… we won."

"Yes, Hui, but…" As he supported his wife, as she wasn't standing so much as leaning on him, he took note of her appearance. "What about you?"

"I… am fine, my lord."

"There is nothing fine about your skin color. Or temperature. Or the way you tremble." Shi brushed a hand over his wife's forehead. "You were fighting while you were sick. Why?"

Xiahou Hui groaned in a sudden pain. With the battle over and the adrenaline leaving, she was becoming aware of just how miserable she felt right now. "I… I wasn't sick when the battle started. I don't see how it could have happened. After… taking that drink…"

"Drink?" Shi reflected on the word. The last time Xiahou Hui had drank anything that he knew of had been during a private meal between the two of them, and she had only drank water at that time. If a drink was the cause of this ailment in his wife, then the only point if time she could have taken the drink was… as he looked at the pain his wife was in and the signs she was showing, he suddenly realized exactly what had happened.

"Get a horse!" Shi ordered. "And send a messenger ahead to Luoyang to notify the doctors." He looked down at his wife, on the verge of losing consciousness on his chest, still wearing a face of pain. "Xiahou Hui was poisoned."

* * *

**That's it for chapter 1. Look forward to the rest.**

**Oh, and, uh, I hope I don't have to actually say it, but... Lady Xiahou Hui should not be confused with a different, _male_ Xiahou Hui, who would be one of Ba's brothers. (And is currently a generic officer in the series.) Hehe.**

**Please review.**


	2. Chase At Mt Tielong

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

Sima Shi paced back and forth, looking uncharacteristically anxious, especially when one considered that he was a man who didn't believe in letting his emotions be apparent. Beside him was the door to the room where a doctor was carefully examining his wife. Xiahou Hui had passed out shortly after the battle with Shu ended, her husband carefully put her on the horse and kept careful watch on her until she was laid down in a bed. As she was unconscious she looked pained the entire way back to Luoyang.

Shi should have been able to trust a professional doctor, but he didn't like trusting his wife's fate to someone he wasn't familiar with, even if the doctor was loyal to the Sima. Yet he knew that someone trained in medicine would do a far better job at treating his wife then he would. It did little to ease his nerves. On top of his wife's health, there was the issue of who, exactly, had poisoned her.

Sima Zhao, standing not far away from his brother, could see the hidden emotions on his brother. Shi looked worried and anxious more then anything else, but Zhao could see the smoldering rage burning within. At times Shi's interaction with his wife seemed aloof and professional, but his feelings went much deeper then that. Sima Shi saw to it that everyone, even his own brother, would pay for the slightest disrespect toward his wife. To attempt to assassinate her like this, it was like signing your own death warrant.

Zhao's own wife did not escape the battle with Shu unscathed herself. Wang Yuanji was sitting in a nearby chair, a bandage wrapped around the arm that had been critically wounded by Jiang Wei at the end of the battle. It was difficult for her to move the arm right now, and if she had trouble moving her preferred arm then it would be some time before she would participate in battle again.

Yuanji, who called Lady Xiahou Hui a dear friend, was also angry that there had been an assassination attempt, though likely not on the same scale of Sima Shi's quiet rage. Yuanji silently replayed the events of the battle with Shu in her head over and over, if she had been more forceful, she might have spared Xiahou Hui from some of the pain she was going through now. Yet she knew that musing of how things could have gone wasn't going to help Xiahou Hui right now.

"Master Sima Shi." A voice broke the silence. Shi snapped to the side to see a soldier of Wei entering the room. Beside him was Deng Ai. Sima Shi didn't recognize the soldier, it was his wife that made a point of recognizing everyone loyal to the Sima.

"What is it?" Shi asked. He did not want to be bothered right now, but if someone as dutiful as Deng Ai had entered, this was likely important.

Deng Ai was silent, but the soldier solemnly stepped forward. The soldier put a closed fist into an open palm and bowed his head. "I was a lookout in the Wei camp in the last battle with Shu. When the battle was starting, I saw one soldier of Wei abandon the camp and flee out the back." The soldier gulped, and a tone of fear laced his next words. "I thought little of it at the time, but I believe that the deserter is most likely the assassin that poisoned your lady wife."

The soldier began to visibly tremble as he finished speaking. He expected Sima Shi to wrathfully order him to be lashed, or that he would lose all his land, or maybe even be executed along with his family. His lack of good judgment had allowed the assassin to get a good distance away, Sima Shi's wrath would be…

"Out of the back of the camp?" Sima Shi asked, the soldier blinked in confusion and cautious relief. In response to Sima Shi's words, Deng Ai produced a cup.

"We found this in the camp." Deng Ai said. "There was not supposed to be any cup with such an ornate design in that camp. Due to your… forgive me, but due to your wife's naivety, I believe the assassin handed her a poison filled cup, gave her a pretty lie, and she drank it." Deng Ai sighed, shameful that a man of ill intent had infiltrated the Wei camp. He might have never realized the intruder had the lookout not come to him with this information. "However, if he fled on foot, then there's a good chance he is still in Mt. Tielong. If you'll give me a small squad, I shall make it my personal duty to find the assassin that targeted your wife."

Sima Shi nodded, then turned his head. "Zhao, I want you to go with Deng Ai. Take with you anyone you think will be helpful. Find that assassin, and determine who targeted Hui and for what reason." He turned, looking back at the door that his wife was on the other side of. "I need to stay here for now, to be ready when she wakes up."

Deng Ai nodded, then turned to Sima Zhao. "Come Master Sima Zhao, we must move quickly, or the assassin will be beyond our grasp." He clasped the lookout on the shoulder. "You as well. Take this as a chance to redeem yourself."

* * *

Zhao didn't think he'd be back in Mt. Tielong this soon. There was not a single Shu soldier still around. The only sign that they were ever here was the remains of the ballista and juggernauts they used in the battle. As well as the burnt remains of the soldiers who fell to the juggernaut's flame, not a sight for people with a weak stomach.

They hadn't come to examine the remains of Shu's failed invasion, of course. They were hunting down an assassin. It was not known how far the man had gotten, if he had fled on horseback he'd be long gone by now, but the lookout stated that the man had fled on foot. If he planned to completely escape on foot he likely hadn't gotten far.

Jia Chong had his scouts sent out. If this assassin had left any trace behind, he would be found. Sima Zhao was slightly worried that the scouts would end up finding nothing. Jia Chong, standing beside him, was at peace, confident that his scouts would succeed. It wouldn't take much… they had been trained to use the slightest bit of detail to guide them to a target.

Deng Ai had already made his suggestions on what paths the assassin may have used when escaping, Jia Chong's scouts put priority on investigating those paths. Zhong Hui had been beside himself in frustration when Deng Ai's suggestions had been taken over his suggestion that the scouts be as spread out as possible.

"They're talking a long time, aren't they?" Sima Zhao noted. Jia Chong's scouts were incredibly efficient, to take more then a few minutes to determine where the assassin may have been or what direction he had headed was rather troubling.

Jia Chong just chuckled at his lord's concerns. "My scouts aren't ones to fall to any possibly ambushes, my lord. This delay most likely simply means that the assassin took excellent measures to cover his tracks."

No measures would be able to completely deter Jia Chong's scouts though. Footprints, dust that suggests someone moved through the area, anything would be the sign his scouts would need.

Almost in response to his thoughts, the scouts suddenly returned. One of them stepped forward to give his report. "A single man, wearing a tattered Wei uniform, is fleeing down the mountain path. Even without noticing us, the man was frantic. He is undoubtedly the assassin we are looking for."

Jia Chong nodded, the scouts excused themselves and dispersed, melting into the squad of Wei soldiers.

"Our target has been found." Deng Ai announced. "Now we-"

"Now we give pursuit." Zhong Hui interrupted. "We all know, Master Deng Ai. We must ensure that the assassin does not escape." He put a hand through his hair as his flying swords hovered around him, looking almost self-aware and hungering for a battle. Zhong Hui wanted to find and catch the assassin, for less then wholly altruistic reasons. He yearned for the chance to make the head of the Sima clan owe a debt to him.

"We must do this as quickly as possible." Deng Ai said. "We must also take him alive. We need to determine who he works for. Begin pursuit."

The Wei soldiers responded to the order, falling in formation and following their officers down the mountain path.

Jia Chong smirked. The assassin, and whomever he was working for, would make good examples for any potential enemies of the Sima when they were captured and brought to Louyang for public execution. Whomever was the mind behind the assassination would have the most painful demise.

The march was lengthy, but overly uneventful. Some of the Wei soldiers likely had the troubling thought that they weren't going to find anyone, that perhaps the scouts couldn't find anything, and simply made up a story so they wouldn't seem to return empty handed. Such thoughts would turn out to be unfounded, as after about twenty minutes of marching, they saw a single man. He wore a Wei uniform, which was suffering from some wear and tear most likely due to marching by himself for an exceptionally long period of time.

Deng Ai began to run faster. Everyone else followed suit.

While it was a small enough unit of soldiers to be easily managed and not be cumbersome or difficult to control, it was large enough that all of them running together was far from subtle. The man they had spotted turned at the peculiar noise coming from behind. His face paled at the sight of Wei's army, and he frantically quickened his pace.

That was all the proof that was necessary. Had the lone runner been loyal to Wei he'd have been relieved to have come across allies. Instead, he was fleeing in terror, as the assassin clearly knew he had been found out. Zhong Hui sped up, breaking formation and starting to get ahead of everyone else. He planned on claiming the accolades for catching the assassin for himself and himself alone. Then an arrow suddenly flew at him. The only thing that kept the arrow from going straight through Zhong Hui's head was the fact that the arrow bounced off of one of Zhong Hui's flying swords.

Someone suddenly shouted from far above the Wei army. Sima Zhao raised his head to see a large group of people, possibly a third of them archers, and the remaining two-thirds an assortment of swordsmen and spear wielders. Altogether they outnumbered the unit of Wei soldiers by a ten to one margin. One of them gave the command for someone to run.

Some of the color returned to the assassin's face, he shouted a thanks and returned to his run. The melee combatants atop of the cliff jumped down before Wei could continue its pursuit.

These unknown enemies, who wore no colors that signified where their allegiance may have laid, circled around the Wei soldiers. Were they soldiers of Wu or Shu? Or did they give their loyalty to another, smaller, faction? It didn't matter, they were men who were challenging Wei, and they would die for it.

"You will never catch that man. He'll be rewarded as he deserves for killing the wife of Sima Shi."

"Yes." Jia Chong agreed. "He will." Taking his throwing axes out, a smirk crept across his face. The enemy soldiers held their ground. Jia Chong immediately understood that they were there to stall Wei. If that assassin escaped then Wei's hunt and chase was a failure, and these enemies would be the victor, even if it was a victory that came at the cost of all of their lives.

The enemy stood at a distance for another moment, then they all began their offensive. Those still on the cliff launched arrows while those on the same level of the Wei soldiers made a furious offense at a critically outnumbered Wei army.

Sima Zhao's striking sword cut through the enemy, while Zhong Hui's flying swords diced and stabbed. Deng Ai and Jia Chong also decimated those that foolishly got in range of them. The soldiers of Wei fought as well, fighting off the enemy despite their extreme disadvantage. A few Wei soldiers fell here and there, but it took only a few short minutes before the large attacking army was smaller in number then the Wei army.

As the numbers of enemies dwindled, Zhong Hui snapped his fingers. His flying swords took to the air and decimated the archers on the cliff top. It took only another short moment for the attacking enemies to be routed completely.

"Keep moving." Deng Ai ordered. "And be aware of your surroundings. Our enemies are organized."

The Wei unit continued to move. Ambushes were frequent. Some hid cleverly behind rocks, others were simply standing in plain sight and just charged when they saw Wei. Whoever had masterminded the assassination had clearly expected a pursuit. Regardless, the cautionary ambushes designed to stymie anyone pursuing the assassin all crumbled against Deng Ai's army. The bigger concern was how much time they were wasting fighting off the ambushes. At this rate the assassin would elude them.

"The ambushes are likely entirely on the path the assassin took to escape." Deng Ai observed. "If we take another path, our enemies shouldn't catch wind that we're approaching from elsewhere."

"They will if we abandon this path." Zhong Hui retorted, not hiding his annoyance at how Deng Ai had seemingly failed to notice that. "At this point they know we're coming, if we suddenly abandon the path the assassin took, they'll know immediately."

Deng Ai thought for a moment. "Master Jia Chong, Master Zhong Hui, continue along this path as a decoy. Master Sima Zhao and I will use a different path to cut off the assassin's route."

_And you conveniently deprive me of the chance to catch the assassin myself._ Zhong Hui privately fumed at the plan, but no one else objected to it. And so, with the majority of the Wei soldiers with him, Zhong Hui joined Jia Chong in continuing along the path. Deng Ai and Sima Zhao, with only about three soldiers of Wei following them, went down a path that while technically longer, would likely have fewer ambushes on it.

* * *

It didn't take long for Jia Chong and Zhong Hui to come upon the next ambush.

"You will never reach that man!" One of the enemy soldiers shouted. "Our lord's vendetta shall be settled."

Jia Chong just smirked, this ambush unit was oblivious of the enemies going around them to the man they were trying to buy time for. And the one enemy who had spoken had a loose tongue, so very much could have been taken from his words. Those words confirmed that the assassination attempt had been for revenge. Who sought to take vengeance, and whether the target was Xiahou Hui or Sima Shi was still unknown, but Wei would get the answers out of the assassin when he had been caught.

Taking his throwing axes out, he joined the rest of the Wei army in battling this ambush squad. The ambush was smaller then most of the previous ones. Jia Chong assumed that whoever had planned the assassination hadn't expected the pursuit to crush so many of the ambushes. The attacks would likely get increasingly lax. The end of this skirmish should be only just up ahead.

* * *

The assassin passed a checkpoint and felt he could finally breath a sigh of relief. He passed so many heavily armed and well fortified groups of allies, he had to be safe at this point. Surely, surely his pursuers had been killed or at least forced to retreat by now.

"Finally…" He breathed out, letting relief mercifully fill his being. He had heard enough stories about what the Sima had done to so many of their enemies that his nerves had been shot over and over during this mission. Now it was finally over, now that he had gotten this far, he should have been…

"You will go no further." An unfamiliar voice suddenly said, nearly giving the assassin a heart attack. He turned to see the intimidating figure of Deng Ai approaching him.

"H-h-how did you c-catch up?" The assassin stuttered in fear, his entire body trembling, knowing what would likely happen to him if he was caught. In a panic he drew his sword and made a frantic call for help.

A legion of soldiers appeared to defend the assassin. The assassin pointed his sword defiantly. "I… I will not be captured by you. I will complete my mission. I am my lord's tool to take revenge on Sima Shi."

Sima Zhao took a step forward. "Revenge on my brother, huh? Your lord… really didn't take enough into account, did he?" The Sima clan had quickly determined that Xiahou Hui had been poisoned, gotten her to a doctor, and sent out a small unit to find the assassin, crushing the ambushes meant to deter any pursuit of the assassin. Whoever was the brains behind this assassination had completely underestimated the Sima.

"Kill them!" The assassin ordered. "I must return to our lord. He must know that the first step in his revenge has been achieved."

The enemies surged forward to the badly outnumbered group of Wei soldiers, only containing Sima Zhao, Deng Ai, and three Wei soldiers. Despite their advantage, the enemy was completely, utterly outclassed, the bodyguards who had tried to assist the assassin were soon lying on the rocky ground, Wei's only loss was a single one of the soldiers who accompanied Sima Zhao and Deng Ai.

"S-stay away." The assassin threatened once he realized just how completely the tables had turned on him. He pointed his sword at the Wei forces with a trembling hand before suddenly pointing his own sword at himself. "I'll k-kill myself if you take another s-step forward. Then you c-can't get any inform-m-mation out of me."

Deng Ai and Sima Zhao heeded the warning, backing up a short distance. The assassin regained just the tiniest sliver of confidence as he slowly backed away, still keeping his sword pointed at his chest. He slowly started to move his sword away from his chest, breathing a sigh of relief. Good, perhaps he'd return safely after all.

Then a throwing axe suddenly flew through the air, slashing the arm that the assassin was using to hold his sword. The assassin cried in pain as the sword fell to the ground. Deng Ai turned and nodded as Jia Chong and Zhong Hui approached.

Two Wei soldiers rushed forward and firmly restrained the assassin before he could do anything, retrieve his sword or attempt to run. Such restraint might not have even been necessary, the assassin was more busy reacting to the writhing pain in his arm.

Jia Chong suddenly and unexpectedly let out a laugh that caught everyone by attention. Even the assassin looked up, starting to find the pain in his arm become bearable. Jia Chong pointed one of his axes at the man. "So this is our target. I'll enjoy having you tell me who sent you and why he had you poison Lady Xiahou Hui." The assassin could only let out a panicked gasp.

Sima Zhao looked away uncomfortably. Deng Ai closed his eyes and shook his head. Even Zhong Hui was rather taken aback. All three of them had been, at one time or another, unwilling witnesses to Jia Chong's powers of persuasion. The man always extracted the information he wanted, no matter how heinous the method he used.

The thought of anyone, let alone with obviously weak willed assassin, long resisting Jia Chong's terrible will, was simply inconceivable.

* * *

**Please review.**


	3. Chaos at Luoyang

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

"Xiahou Hui." Shi began. He beheld his wife in her bed. The doctor, after much difficulty, had succeeded in neutralizing the poison. Whoever had prepared the poison had made sure it was a very slow acting, most likely to make Xiahou Hui's death as drawn out and as painful as possible. Yet in an odd way, it was good such a poison had been used, it gave the Sima the time to react and treat the poison.

Thank the heavens, Xiahou Hui was going to continue to enjoy life. According to the doctor, all Xiahou Hui needed at this point was rest. Though the poison was gone, her body was wracked with pain, and only rest would cure it. While he had no objections to Lord Sima Shi speaking to his wife, the doctor urged the Sima to keep the moment with his wife brief. Xiahou Hui needed to spend as much time quietly resting as possible.

His wife turned to him when he called her name. She was slipping in and out of consciousness, the doctor informed him that she would slowly improve. It might take weeks, but she would rise again, would walk again, and would be able to battle again.

"My lord." She spoke weakly. Slowly she scanned around the room with her eyes. She was back in Luoyang, but her last clearest memory was at Mt. Tielong. She… yes, that's right, her husband had driven off Jiang Wei just when it looked like the Shu strategist would slay her. Sima Shi saved both her and Wang Yuanji, and gave Shu a crushing defeat.

Xiahou Hui was about to try to rise when her husband gave her a stern look.

"Hui. Stay in bed. You need rest." Shi said quietly, but with a subtle sharpness to his tone, he would not be argued with. Xiahou Hui looked up sadly. Perhaps in an attempt to console her, Sima Shi clasped the hand that was poking out from under the covers. With his wife's hand held in his, Shi continued speaking.

"We're investigating who poisoned you and why. While we do, all you need to focus on is continued rest. Rest until you can stand again."

Xiahou Hui, despite having little strength in her body at the moment, clutched her husband's hand tightly. Her mind wasn't clear at the moment, but she was aware of her failing. The man who offered her that drink had been the one who had poisoned her. How could she have not seen it? Her husband would have seen through that duplicitous man before the cup had even been offered.

"My lord, I-"

"Lord Sima Shi." A voice came from behind. Sima Shi turned to the sight of Jia Chong, who had apparently shown himself in. The doctor was standing beside Jia Chong, shamefully looking down at the ground over his failure to stop this intrusion. A narrowing of the eyes was Shi's way of telling the advisor that his presence was not welcome right now. Jia Chong easily read the expression, but spoke with a sense of urgency.

"We now know who poisoned Lady Xiahou Hui. My lord, I must speak with you about this."

Sima Shi sighed, then nodded. He turned back to his wife, giving her a telling look to let her know that he had to go.

Fear was apparent in Xiahou Hui's eyes. She held her husband's hand tighter, scared with the certainly that he was rising to leave. Depending on what Jia Chong wanted to talk about, the possibility that her husband would never return was very real.

Sima Shi gave his wife a stern look, Xiahou Hui slowly, sadly let go. Shi reached his hand out and brushed some of Hiahou Hui's hair out of her face.

"Fear not. I will return." Sima Shi assured before turning. Xiahou Hui turned her head as much as she could to keep sight of her husband, and carefully watched him until he was out of sight.

* * *

"Who is it, Jia Chong?" Sima Shi asked, trying to keep his voice neutral, but a note of impatience crept in. "Who was behind the assassination?"

"Calm yourself, my lord." Jia Chong urged. "The assassin resisted my interrogation only for a few minutes. A bit longer then I expected." He chuckled slightly, the assassin had already been executed, which was probably a mercy after the mental scars Jia Chong inflicted. "My lord, this was a Wu plot."

Sima Shi blinked at the information. "Wu? You're certain?"

"I don't doubt that I was getting reliable information out of the assassin. When you defeated Wu at New Hefei Castle, it told Wu of the threat the Sima clan posed. They sought to eliminate you as quickly as possible. Their plan was to antagonize you with the death of your wife, once she was dead they assumed your emotions would lead you to charge without thinking into a trap they've set."

"Was Shu involved in this plot?"

Jia Chong shook his head. "The assassin swore they weren't. Jiang Wei's latest Northern Campaign just happened to occur at a convenient moment." Convenient indeed for Wu. Wang Yuanji had spoken of the bizarre movements Xiahou Hui had been making partway through the battle, that attack from Jiang Wei served only to heighten the chances that the plot might succeed. Exertion combined with the poison only allowed it to damage Xiahou Hui's body that much more.

Shi nodded. "And who was the one who orchestrated the attempt to poison Xiahou Hui?"

Jia Chong was silent only for a moment.

"Zhuge Ke."

Sima Shi paused at that. "Zhuge Ke?" He repeated. The Wu general that Shi triumphed over at New Hefei Castle? Yes, he would likely bear a strong and terrible grudge against Sima Shi, but… "We were told he had been assassinated."

Jia Chong nodded. "Yes, we were. However that assassin swore to me that it was Zhuge Ke who ordered that Lady Xiahou Hui be poisoned."

Sima Shi nodded and contemplated the situation. It made sense, if Zhuge Ke had not been assassinated, he would have come after Sima Shi for revenge. Zhuge Ke had many faults, he was too prideful in his lineage, he refused to accept responsibility for his errors, but he was a just slightly competent strategist from what Shi could see. A plan like this was well within Zhuge Ke's capabilities.

"Lord Sima Shi!" A voice unexpectedly rang out. Shi turned around to see a messenger running up. He quickly fell to his knees, a fist into an open palm. "An army of Wu soldiers has taken New Hefei Castle. Reports say they are readying to invade Wei."

"An invasion?" Jia Chong asked. This seemed like a rather bold move. Had word of the assassin's capture already reached Jianye?

"A challenge." Sima Shi corrected. "Zhuge Ke wants me to meet him on the same battlefield where we last met. Only this time he'll be the one in the castle's keep." Sima Shi's hands balled into fists. He could not forgive this attempt on his wife's life. He would take Zhuge Ke's bait, and he would bring a final end to the man of Wu.

"Jia Chong. Gather everyone, I shall decide who will go with me and who will stay behind to defend Xiahou Hui. I suspect he had something planned in case Hui managed to survive the poisoning."

Jia Chong put a fist into an open palm. "My lord."

* * *

The members of the Sima clan quickly gathered. The information that Jia Chong took out of the assassin was repeated for everyone. The attempt on Xiahou Hui's life was the work of Zhuge Ke, who desired to avenge his crushing defeat at New Hefei Castle. Sima Shi intended to meet Zhuge Ke's challenge, accompanying him would be his brother, Sima Zhao, along with Zhuge Dan and Deng Ai.

"The rest of you must defend Xiahou Hui." Shi said. "Stay vigilant, alongside further Wu assassins, the enemies of the Sima clan might make a move at this time. No harm must come to her."

One by one, the Sima made their vows to defend Xiahou Hui with their lives. Zhong Hui's vow sounded very reluctant, inwardly he was raging over Deng Ai being selected to join Shi in the upcoming battle over him. Wang Yuanji also seemed upset, though only due to her denial of taking part in avenging what happened to Xiahou Hui. Not that she could do anything about it, she was still recovering from her own wound from Mt. Tielong.

With his order clear, Sima Shi and his army departed from Luoyang, leaving the remaining Sima to begin their watch over Xiahou Hui.

Xiahou Ba had begun a patrol, pacing around the building that Xiahou Hui was in. Guo Huai was with him, occasionally having a coughing fit. Jia Chong was skulking about, it was difficult to keep tabs on him, but everyone suspected that if an attempt was made on the helpless Xiahou Hui's life, he'd be the first to catch wind of it.

Zhong Hui was brooding at the gates to the house, continuing to inwardly rant about the injustice of the 'chosen one' being left here. In his sullen mood he was drawing a pattern in the air with his finger. His flying swords were responding to the movement, slashing through the air. Zhong Hui smirked, one could only imagine what he pictured being ripped to shreds by his swords.

Yuanji chose to keep Xiahou Hui company in her room, rather then let the woman's anxieties tear her apart in that lonely room. For right now, Yuanji decided to not tell Hui that her husband had departed with the objective to slay the man who had given the order to poison her. Xiahou Hui laid in her bed ignorant of a fair number of facts.

After a few hours had passed, the moon was starting to rise on Wei's capital. Nothing had happened, though Yuanji and Hui had managed to have a few light conversations. They did not talk much, Hui still needed to focus on resting. Then, as Yuanji was watching Xiahou Hui come close to falling asleep, the door to the room suddenly opened.

Bolting from her chair, she looked toward the door. Even with her arm wounded, she could toss a knife into the throat of any would-be assassin. The act might tear the wound open, but she was willing to do that for Hui's sake.

Then the intruder spoke, and the words chilled Yuanji's blood.

"Oh, Yuanji, no need to overreact."

Wang Yuanji took a nervous step back as she recognized the voice. "Y-yes, Lady Chunhua."

Zhang Chunhua, accompanied by her husband, Sima Yi, had come. They were the mother and father of Sima Shi and Sima Zhao, and thus the mother-in-law and father-in-law of Wang Yuanji and Xiahou Hui.

Sima Yi stepped forward. "No need to be alarmed, Yuanji. We simply came to visit Xiahou Hui."

Yuanji nodded, relaxing herself. Chunhua stepped forward, taking the seat Yuanji had been in a moment ago, and smiled at Hui.

"I'm sure my imbecile son has been giving you so much trouble of late. Now look, he won't even sit beside you until you're ready to leave the bed."

"My lord…" Xiahou Hui began her protest. "…is, is devoid of… flaws."

Chunhua's smile didn't change at Xiahou Hui's naïve worship of her husband. Sima Yi stood beside the bed. The woman held Sima Shi in such high regard, Sima Yi might have been slightly envious of the fact that his eldest son didn't live in fear of his lady.

Shi had a worthy wife. Xiahou Hui would never be counted among the imbeciles plaguing the land. Though the woman had been the source of some troubles when Sima Yi initially announced his coup against the Cao. The Xiahou clan was devoted to the Cao, and Xiahou Hui initially rejected the idea of going along with the rebellion. Doubtlessly the idea of abandoning the Sima crossed her mind, but after seeing the Cao's willingness to slay her, and Sima Shi defending her in battle, she abandoned the Cao and swore her undying loyalty to the Sima.

Now, Sima Shi was heading to New Hefei Castle. Sima Yi understood that Xiahou Hui hadn't been informed of this just yet, and so he spoke nothing of it. Yet he took a moment to wonder what was happening at New Hefei Castle right now.

* * *

"My lord, no soldiers of Wei have been spotted for the last hour."

Zhuge Ke nodded and dismissed the messenger. He was walking in the keep of New Hefei Castle, a place he had tried to invade a few months earlier. Unfortunately, he lost that battle, and he never forgot that humiliation. Not only had he been defeated, he had lost in an embarrassingly one-sided fashion. At first it looked like victory would be his, but everything fell apart once Sima Shi took command of the Wei forces. His strategy, however, was faultless, it was undoubtedly the ineptitude of his troops that cost him the battle. Despite that obvious fact, Sima Shi had the audacity to call him 'incompetent' in the closing moments of the battle.

He had returned to this battlefield and, without Sima Shi the Wei soldiers who were within New Hefei Castle were a joke. Zhuge Ke routed them and claimed the castle in barely twenty minutes. The bodies of the Wei defenders were burnt after they were slain, their charred remains would be good image to greet Sima Shi when he arrived.

"So your plan will soon be coming to fruition, then?" Sun Chen asked.

Zhuge Ke smirked. "Yes, of course it will. Sima Shi should be marching on this castle in due time. Once I defeat him, one of Wei's greatest minds, and Wei's greatest threat to Wu, will be gone."

Sun Chen looked unimpressed at Zhuge Ke's self-assured attitude. "You just remember, I went to great lengths to keep you alive after the attempt on your life. Don't convince me that all that effort was a waste. Give me results."

Zhuge Ke put a fist into an open palm and bowed his head. "You have no need to worry, my lord. I am a worthy successor to my uncle. I will defeat Sima Shi, just as Zhuge Liang always bested Sima Yi."

There was a silence, then eventually Sun Chen wrinkled his nose in annoyance. Zhuge Ke understood exactly what Sun Chen was saying with that. 'Fulfill your mission or be executed'.

Sun Chen took his leave. Zhuge Ke was about to leave to review the defenses and his battle plan, when another person spoke to him.

"Tell me, Master Zhuge Ke, what is your greatest desire in this battle?" Lu Kang came up to the Zhuge's side.

"Eliminate one of Wei's greatest men for the glory of Wu." Zhuge Ke answered frankly. "That's why we antagonized him by poisoning his wife. Though I admit I had to change my plans after our incompetent assassin was caught, we will succeed in our objective regardless." Zhuge Ke turned to look at the doors that led out of the keep. "We will eliminate the greatest threat to Wu, and I shall avenge my defeat at this castle."

"But what is more important to you on this day, Master Zhuge Ke?" Lu Kang asked. His next words came with a sharpness that he didn't bother trying to hide. "Slaying a threat to Wu, or avenging your wounded pride?"

Zhuge Ke snapped his head in Lu Kang's direction. "Don't take that tone with me, Master Lu Kang. You may be Master Lu Xun's son, but I am the commander of our attacks on Wei."

Lu Kang curled a lip in disgust. It was clear that slaying a threat to Wu was just a side note to Zhuge Ke. Nothing meant more to him then proving his superiority over Sima Shi. His refusal to accept that it was his own recklessness that cost Wu at New Hefei Castle last time, and his grudge against Sima Shi, was all that had been on his mind for months. Months spent simply sitting on his wounded pride.

"A commander who stoops to such honorless levels. Poisoning a woman? Just to provoke her husband? If only the honor-bound Master Taishi Ci had lived to see this."

Zhuge Ke bit back the snarl he wanted to give. "Enough of that, Lu Kang." He, notably, did not address his fellow officer of Wu with the proper title. "We shall defeat Wei and either slay Sima Shi here or drag him back to Jianye for public execution. What meaning is there in my personal stake in this battle?"

Lu Kang was silent. He could not condone Zhuge Ke's priorities. Letting this man continue to have so much authority in Wu's military would not be wise. Yet for now, they had the battle to focus on. After the battle, after they had returned to Jianye, Lu Kang would speak with the Wu Emperor regarding Zhuge Ke. If Lu Kang even survived.

"Oh." Zhuge Ke suddenly spoke. "Regarding the woman, if the poison fails to kill her, I have a contingency plan."

Lu Kang blinked, taking note of Zhuge Ke's devilish smile. "You're not… suggesting…"

* * *

Night had arrived in Luoyang, and few people were still on the streets at this point. Two soldiers of Wei were off-duty, and so were taking their time gossiping. They started with speaking of the oddly high amount of Sima-loyal officers guarding a certain building, but their talk quickly centered on Sima Shi and Xiahou Hui.

"Did you hear, Master Sima Shi, despite normally being very strict, is very lenient with his wife. He lets her get away with a lot. They say that she's the only one who can take Master Sima Shi's meat buns away from him and live to tell the tale."

The other soldier cocked his head. "The way I hear it, Lady Xiahou Hui has a tendency to look at her husband's plate, then take the tastiest looking meat bun right off the plate for herself. And she'll eat it in front of Master Sima Shi as well."

"I wouldn't recommend trying that yourself. Even Master Sima Zhao might get executed if he tried something like that."

The two continued repeating stories they heard, playfully smiling at the dubiously accurate facts. Then, suddenly, a hand cupped over the mouth of one of the soldiers, and before anyone could react, a blade had gone across his throat.

One Wei soldier fell, dead before he landed on the ground. The other lived only a few more seconds, he was stabbed in the back by an unknown assailant.

The assassins cleaned their blades with emotionless efficiency. A large, hulking man appeared nearby, carrying a giant ring. Ding Feng nodded at the assassins, then turned in the direction of their target.

Their mission was simple. Determine if Xiahou Hui looked like she might survive the poison she drank, and slay her if she did. During the mission, they had to be wary of a certain man named Jia Chong. If anyone loyal to the Sima could figure out what was going on, it would be him.

Ding Feng's brow furrowed at the thought of slaying a recovering woman in her bed. He mentally reminded himself that this was to hurt Sima Shi and the rest of the Sima clan, it was for the good of Wu, and he'd do anything, stoop to anything, for the sake of Wu.

The fact that he had to remind himself of the rationality of the mission did not bode well for his morale, and that fact wasn't lost on him. Steeling himself, he gave his soldiers the signal to move forward.

* * *

Jia Chong walked slowly by the house Xiahou Hui was in. Nothing unusual had happened yet. Not even the enemies of the Sima within Wei had made a move. Of course, Xiahou Hui's condition was not a publicly known fact. Many likely were raising their eyebrows at the heightened security around this dwelling, but it wasn't enough facts for them to piece together what was happening.

A slight sound was made in the distance. Jia Chong didn't turn to it.

A Wu assassin was approaching Jia Chong, his weapon drawn. Before the attack on the Sima dwelling would begin, Ding Feng decided to first silence the man who was most capable of potentially ruining the mission. As such, Ding Feng gave one assassin the specific mission of hunting Jia Chong down.

The assassin's blade was painted as to not gleam when light struck it, in this way the assassin's position would not be given away so easily. Though perhaps that was ultimately unnecessary, Jia Chong had his back to his killer, and gave no sign that he was aware of anything out of the ordinary. Slowly, he closed the distance.

Jia Chong crossed his arms, then smirked. The assassin lifted his blade up to strike, believing that one slash would do it. Suddenly Jia Chong whipped around and, with one slash of his throwing axes, ended the assassin's life. He chuckled at how easy it was to lead his would-be killer. His amusement lasted only a moment. He had to inform the others of this development, an organized group of assassins was in Luoyang. There was very little chance this man had been acting on his own.

* * *

Xiahou Hui had drifted off to sleep. Zhang Chunhua was petting the girl's hand with a smile on her face before eventually laying the hand on Xiahou Hui's waist. Slowly standing up, Chunhua turned to walk toward a window.

Yuanji saw some of Xiahou Hui's hair drift onto her face. Sima Shi had a tendency to brush some hair out of his wife's face, she contemplated doing it herself…

Then the door suddenly burst open. It happened so unexpectedly that Yuanji jumped. She, along with Zhang Chunhua and Sima Yi, turned to see Jia Chong enter, accompanied by Xiahou Ba, Guo Huai, and Zhong Hui.

"What do you think you're doing?" Yuanji demanded, biting back the urge to yell. "Someone is trying to sleep."

"I'm sorry." Xiahou Ba said, bowing his head. "I tried to stop him, but Master Jia Chong was adamant on coming in here."

"Jia Chong, what is the meaning of this?" Sima Yi demanded. He knew that Jia Chong wouldn't enter without a good reason, and yet he doubted that anything could justify him barging in like this.

"My lord, there is a group of assassins in Luoyang." Jia Chong reported. A look of shock fell on everyone in the room. "I slew a single man earlier when he was obviously approaching me to kill, but I doubt he came here by himself."

"Assassins?" Yuanji asked aloud. "This is Wei's capital. They could be after anything. Most likely the Emperor."

"No matter what they're after, Lord Sima Shi bade us to protect his wife. We must assume they're after Lady Xiahou Hui and focus on defending her. Everything else can wait."

A small silence fell. No one disagreed with Jia Chong. Xiahou Hui was to be their first priority. Everything else, even Emperor Cao Mao's safety, was of less importance. That only left the question of how they should mobilize to repel the assassins.

After a moment of silence that stretched far too long, Zhang Chunhua finally spoke. "It is fortunate that we have such a strategist here with us, is it not? Forming an unbreakable defense should be simple." She turned to look at her husband.

Sima Yi took a nervous step back. "My dear, I'm retired now. It should be Jia Chong or Guo Huai who takes charge of the battle. I-"

Chunhua crossed her arms, and made just the subtlest movement with an eyebrow. Sima Yi's words were caught in his throat, for a moment he couldn't build up the courage to even breath. After a moment he conceded. Taking his horsehair whip in hand, he stepped forward.

"Of course. I couldn't leave my son's wife in danger like this. I'll not allow these imbeciles to come in and take her life."

Zhong Hui smirked. "I was denied the chance to put Master Sima Shi in my debt at Mt. Tielong. I now have the chance to correct that."

"Oh, Master Zhong Hui…" Chunhua spoke softly. "That shouldn't be your first priority right now."

Zhong Hui may have retorted, but one look at Chunhua's face and all of his egocentric motivations vanished and were replaced with fear.

"B-but… of course, protecting a helpless woman from being assassinated is my biggest concern." He made a nervous chuckle, then turned away.

It said something that someone as confident as Zhong Hui was instantly cowed by Chunhua. It also said something that one look at Jia Chong made it clear that even he was desperately hoping that Chunhua had no reason to address him specifically.

"Enough of this." Sima Yi ordered. "Everyone, we must first create a protective circle around the building. Send word to all soldiers. Ensuring that no unknown man enters is essential." He turned back. "Wang Yuanji, stay here. In your condition, you won't be able to participate in the battle."

Yuanji nodded. It would still be another week at least before taking part in actual combat would be truly feasible for her. As everyone else left, Yuanji turned toward her throwing knives, she could still act like a last line of defense, but if Sima Yi was the strategist she doubted she would have to do anything. She turned back to Xiahou Hui, who had slept through the conversation.

* * *

Ding Feng saw the Sima mobilizing. It seems that the one sent after Jia Chong had failed, and what's worse, the failed attack had alerted the Sima. Simply sneaking in was no longer possible, but if they made a blunt attack the noise would carry through the city, and Wei's military would be upon them. Fortunately, Wu had a plan for this situation.

"Separate our forces. Send small teams to cause distractions around Luoyang. And tell them that their sacrifices will not be in vain. We must be uninterrupted by the rest of Wei's military if there is any hope of success."

One soldier saluted and ran off. It took only a few minutes for the results of Ding Feng's orders to be heard, sounds of chaos rang throughout Luoyang. The armory and the depot were both under attack, and a few Wu assassins made a valiant but futile attack on the throne room. Wei's army responded, the attack on the throne room was easily repelled, and they were fighting for control of the other areas of Luoyang. Altogether, none of the Wei officials were likely to notice an attack on the Sima. And if they did, they'd reason that they had bigger priorities.

"Stealth had failed. We must use now use force. For the sake of Wu, we must see to the death of Xiahou Hui." He gave the order to advance. He had to do this quickly, the window of opportunity he had to complete this mission was very, very small.

Sima Yi scoffed at Wu's approach. "Wu thinks it can assassinate my son's wife? I'll make the imbeciles regret every step they took into Wei territory." He gave the order to hold a firm defense. "Ensure that nothing slips past you. Do not pursue the enemy, fight only as you must to defend Hui."

Wu's assassins, though small in number, were bigger then Sima Yi's troops. Sima Shi had taken the majority of the Sima's army with him. Nonetheless, the Sima had the benefit of Sima Yi's tactical genius. It took little time to make it clear that the Sima's defense would be impenetrable if Wu continued such a basic advance.

Ding Feng suddenly appeared on the front lines. Despite Wu having a moderate advantage in numbers, Wu could not afford the battle to go on any longer then necessary. With his ring he carved a hole through the Sima's defense. Before he could give the order to advance, however, he had to dodge a sudden barrage of gunfire.

"Wu is attempting to assassinate a helpless woman in her bed. Has-" Guo Huai suddenly gave into a coughing fit. After some time the coughing subsided. "Has Wu abandoned even the pretense of honor?"

Ding Feng focused his gaze on Guo Huai. "To keep Wu's fire burning, we must eliminate all who could threaten us. I will do anything for the sake of Wu."

In between all the chaos around them, Ding Feng and Guo Huai began to fight. It was a battle of opposites, Ding Feng was large, healthy, and was making every effort to close the distance. Guo Huai, on the other hand, suffered from a perpetual illness, had a comparatively small and weak frame, and was trying to force Ding Feng away.

The duel between them didn't last long. Ding Feng's spinning weapon was able to deflect Guo Huai's attacks and it looked like Ding Feng would slay the ailing man with one blow. In what seemed to be desperation, Guo Huai suddenly lunged forward, it was such a sudden move that Ding Feng was caught off guard. The bayonet on the end of Guo Huai's weapon stabbed painfully into Ding Feng's gut.

Ding Feng jerked back, then suddenly charged in with an attack that would have certainly ended Guo Huai's life, if Xiahou Ba didn't suddenly intervene.

The Siege Spear rocketed in front of Ding Feng, making him lose his footing. As Guo Huai reestablished distance, Xiahou Ba made an offense with his heavy weapon. Despite Ding Feng obviously having much more muscular strength then Ba, Ba's heavier weapon allowed him to knock Ding Feng's weapon aside.

_It seems this is not working._ Ding Feng perceived that they would quickly lose if this kept up. He himself was being overwhelmed. Yet if the Sima was focusing on defense, then they likely wouldn't wander far from the building.

Ding Feng made the order to fall back. Predictably, Sima Yi called for a halt after a small time. At this, Ding Feng's soldiers took out bows and began nocking arrows. Sima Yi easily saw what was happening and ordered his soldiers to fall into the interior of the building before the hail of arrows could drastically decrease his army's strength.

"Wei is retreating. Let us push forward. We shall slay Xiahou Hui and then retreat." Ding Feng led his troops forward. They broke into the building with ease… and were met with the laughter of Sima Yi.

"You imbecile! You completely took my bait." Sima Yi gloated, standing before Ding Feng and his army by himself. "Now I have every advantage."

On the second floor above them, archers appeared. Ding Feng gritted his teeth. How did Sima Yi prepare this in so little time? Or had he already planned for the possibility of being forced inside? He had little time to ponder, the arrows were set free, flying straight with the sole intent of ending the lives of the assassins.

Scores of Wu assassins fell. In moments Ding Feng would be left with very precious little soldiers left. In light of that fact, and in the face of Sima Yi's impeccable defense, he was forced to make a choice.

"Fall back." Ding Feng ordered. "We must return to Jianye. Our mission is a failure."

What men of Wu were left solemnly obeyed. Zhuge Ke would likely not easily forgive this failure, nor would Sun Chen, yet they followed Ding Feng's command and pulled back.

"Is that it?" Sima Yi taunted the retreating Wu. "I see you imbeciles didn't come prepared for any level of resistance." He laughed. Indeed, Wu clearly had only thought it possible that they would contend with some light offense. Yet this failing likely wasn't a fault of the large Wu commander, it was another example of the incompetence of Zhuge Ke.

Sima Yi turned toward his allies. "Maintain your defense. Ensure that no straggler tries to sneak in here." He began to walk. "I shall see to Xiahou Hui."

* * *

Fortunately, none of the assassins even got close to Xiahou Hui. She still slept peacefully, so blissfully ignorant of this second threat on her life. Wang Yuanji had been tensely holding her knives since Sima Yi and Zhang Chunhua had left the room. Now, at last, she allowed herself to relax.

"Wu's army was not large in size." Jia Chong noted. "I suspect that Zhuge Ke expected that Master Sima Shi would take every able bodied man with him. Ding Feng's attack would have been more concerning if Zhuge Ke had made more accurate predictions."

"It's fortunate that he was so foolish with his plan." Sima Yi took a step forward and looked at Xiahou Hui. He certainly would not have looked forward to telling Shi that his wife had been assassinated. "It made it laughably easy to deal with the assassins. However, one more thing must be done to ensure Hui's safety. That, however, we leave to my son."

Yuanji nodded, understanding completely. "Lady Xiahou Hui is in danger as long as Zhuge Ke still lives. This matter will only end with his death. We must put our faith into Master Sima Shi's ability to end this." She looked at Xiahou Hui again, who had started to smile in her sleep. Likely, her husband was in whatever dream she was having. Hopefully, Sima Shi would return safely, so Hui could be happy in the waking world as well.

* * *

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